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Alphabetti Theatre and The Esmee Fairburn Foundation

Response Programme

 

Our response programme has been offering early career directors the chance to create exciting original short plays since 2019. 

 

Who's it for?  

Emerging and early career directors aged 18 and over. We are especially interested to hear from people who identify as LGBTQ+, consider themselves part of the global majority, have experienced racism, are deaf, disabled or neurodiverse, or who are from working class backgrounds. We are also interested in hearing from actors and other performers who are interested in expanding their skills to include directing. 

 

Is it paid?

Yes! Each director will receive a fee of £550 (as of January 2024)

 

How does it work?

1.       We are recruiting emerging directors for productions of new 15-minute plays, matching them with emerging directors from the North East region.

2.       Each play will respond to one of the main productions in our programme, or one of our Cult Cinema Club films, and will have been selected from submissions to our Response Writing competition. (Find out more about the competition here) 

3.       Directors will be given the winning script on day 1 of rehearsals. They will then have a week to stage the play, working with their cast in our rehearsal space.

4.       Support will be provided by a mentor (Martin Hylton, Louie Ingham, Paula Penman or Ben Dickenson) to help the director and actors get the show ready for a professional off-book performance.

5.       The play will be performed immediately either after the main production for 3 nights (usually Tuesday to Thursday) during the last week of its run or on specific dates as part of the Cult Cinema Club response and reaction programme. Full dates listed below.

 

How do I get involved?

We host open auditions throughout the year, keep an eye out for the next one

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